DND, UP officials meet to discuss termination of 1989 accord
Published February 4, 2021 7:07pm
Updated February 4, 2021 11:17pm By JULIA MARI ORNEDO, GMA News Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and University of the Philippines (UP) President Danilo Concepcion on Thursday met to discuss the Department of National Defense (DND)’s unilateral termination of their 1989 accord. The dialogue was initiated by Commission on Higher Education chairman Prospero De Vera III in Quezon City. “The dialogue afforded the key leaders the opportunity to discuss the way forward and possible areas of cooperation on how both institutions can promote their mutual aspirations to ensure a safe and secure environment conducive to learning,” the parties said in a joint statement.
Defense Secretary Delfn Lorenzana and University of the Philippines (UP) President Danilo Concepcion would likely meet anytime this week to iron things out on the issue of the abrogation of the Soto-Enrile agreement.
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Published January 21, 2021, 3:02 PM
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has accepted Presidential spokesman Harry Roque’s offer to broker talks with University of the Philippines (UP) President Danilo Concepcion on the termination of a 30-year-old agreement between the two parties.
Roque made the statement after he offered to facilitate a possible discussion between Lorenzana and Concepcion on the termination of the UP-DND accord that prohibits the uncoordinated entry of police and military to campuses.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque
(JOEY DALUMPINES/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In his Thursday presser, Roque said that Lorenzana has expressed willingness to sit down and talk with Concepcion but the latter is yet to respond to his offer.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 19) Vice President Leni Robredo, several lawmakers, and progressive youth groups denounced the Department of National Defense s decision to abrogate its three-decade agreement with the University of the Philippines that bars uniformed personnel from entering UP campuses without notifying school officials.
The Duterte administration s unilateral termination of the deal is clearly meant to silence the government s critics, Robredo said Tuesday, pointing out that the accord simply asks law enforcers to give notice to the university before conducting any security operations inside their campuses. This is neither a difficult nor onerous rule. Clearly, then, this is not a practical gesture, but a symbolic one. One designed to sow fear. One designed to discourage dissent. One designed to silence criticism, she said.